Chapter 34 I think this is more like a bride price
The banquet wasn't over yet that night.
The news that the head of the Huo family spent 50 million to present the final necklace to the daughter of the Ruan family and personally acknowledged her as a distinguished guest of the Huo family has spread like wildfire throughout the upper-class circles of Beijing.
The door to the conference room on the top floor of the Huo Group building had just been closed.
Qin Feng respectfully handed a cell phone to Huo Yanzhi, on which a somewhat shaky video was playing.
The video shows what happened at today's auction.
On the screen, in a dimly lit corner, the glaring orange-yellow stain on the girl's champagne-colored skirt was clearly visible.
Zhou Yayun's arrogant demeanor contrasted sharply with Ruan Yao's forlorn figure, who looked down at her skirt.
Huo Yanzhi remained expressionless, but the atmosphere in the office suddenly became tense.
"It was taken by a guest at the banquet," Qin Feng reported in a low voice. "It was Zhou Yayun, the young lady of the Zhou family, who deliberately splashed it."
Qin Feng had been by Huo Yanzhi's side for many years and knew very well where his boss's bottom line was.
Ruan Yao is clearly the bottom line that cannot be crossed.
Huo Yanzhi had been secretly plotting to take action against the Zhou family for some time. Qin Feng thought it was just a simple business competition, but now it seems that it's not that simple.
This time, the Zhou family has walked right into the line of fire.
"Mr. Huo, should we start the plan against the Zhou family now?" Qin Feng asked tentatively.
The office was eerily quiet.
After a long while, Huo Yanzhi finally spoke.
"Need not."
Qin Feng was somewhat surprised.
Huo Yanzhi wants to take action against the Zhou family, but not now.
Su Mingyuan's trail hasn't been closed yet. He wants to make the Ruan family see clearly who stabbed them in the back, and he also wants Ruan Yao to understand what kind of person her cousin really is.
However, this does not mean he will let Zhou Yayun off the hook.
Huo Yanzhi walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the city night view. "Let's leave Zhou Tianhao for now, but his precious daughter needs to be taught a lesson."
"Release all her materials."
"Yes, boss." Qin Feng accepted the order and turned to leave quickly.
The office fell silent again.
Huo Yanzhi looked at the lights of thousands of homes outside the window, but his mind was filled with the girl's disheveled dress in the video and her profile as she tried to appear calm.
The silence was broken by the vibration of a cell phone.
He looked down and saw a new text message pop up.
It was Ruan Yao.
The necklace Uncle Huo gave me is too valuable, what should I do? Can I return it to you? QAQ
The crying emoticon carries a touch of helpless, adorable silliness.
In Huo Yanzhi's mind, the image of Ruan Yao acting pitiful and coquettish popped into his head.
He raised his hand and gently stroked the emoticon on the screen with his fingertip.
The taut lines of her lips finally loosened slightly, but the gentle smile vanished in an instant.
He placed his phone face down on the table and picked up the documents beside him again.
*
On the other side, Ruan Yao had just returned home when she sensed an unusual atmosphere in the living room.
The living room lights were on, and Su Wanqing and Ruan Minghui sat upright in the main seat of the sofa, looking quite like they were about to conduct a joint trial.
Ruan Sheng, meanwhile, huddled in the single sofa, legs crossed, desperately trying to signal to her with his eyes, his lips moving silently:
I have already confessed.
"Dad, Mom, Brother, what's wrong with you..." Ruan Yao hadn't finished speaking.
Su Wanqing quickly walked over, took her hand, and checked her over from head to toe. When she saw the dried stain on her skirt, she felt extremely distressed.
"What happened? Did that girl from the Zhou family bully you at the banquet?"
"Yaoyao, what exactly is going on between you and the Huo family?" Ruan Minghui asked in a deep voice. As a businessman, he thought more deeply.
Huo Wenbo's actions at the banquet today were tantamount to announcing to the entire Beijing-North circle that the Ruan family was under Huo's protection.
This favor is immense.
Before Ruan Yao could figure out how to explain, Ruan Sheng cleared his throat and said, "Hey, what else could it be? It's as obvious as a louse on a monk's head."
After saying that, he winked and asked slyly.
"Sis, you're really something! Even your future father-in-law got involved. Such a big investment! Tell me the truth, have you already won over Huo Yanzhi?"
Ruan Sheng is currently riding high; he will be the brother-in-law of the future heir of the Huo family.
"Shut up!" Ruan Minghui glared at his son.
Ruan Yao's cheeks flushed from her brother's question, and she reached out and pinched his arm.
"Don't talk nonsense."
She briefly recounted how Ye Mei encountered a spotlight falling at the event and how she helped push it away, and then explained Huo Wenbo's gift of the necklace as an "overly generous thank-you gift."
However, this explanation is clearly not very convincing.
"A thank-you gift?" Ruan Sheng exclaimed dramatically, "A necklace worth fifty million as a thank-you gift? In front of all the celebrities in Beijing? Sister, I think this is more like a betrothal gift."
Ruan Minghui coughed and glared at his son, but his expression clearly showed agreement.
Su Wanqing's expression softened somewhat, but her worry remained.
“Yaoyao, tell your mother the truth. Your brother said that you and that guy from the Huo family… Huo Yanzhi, you two…”
"We're not really anything yet," Ruan Yao denied softly, but her cheeks involuntarily began to burn.
"Nothing much yet?" Ruan Sheng couldn't help but interject, "Mom, you have no idea, my sister has even studied military strategy in order to pursue Huo Yanzhi, she's been pretending and lying."
"Brother!" Ruan Yao was both embarrassed and angry. Ruan Sheng had such a big mouth.
Seeing their daughter like this, Ruan Minghui and Su Wanqing exchanged a glance and roughly understood what was going on.
Ruan Minghui sighed, his tone becoming serious.
“Yaoyao, the Huo family is a family we can’t possibly aspire to. Your father isn’t a snob, he’s just worried that you’ll be wronged.”
“Yes, Yaoyao,” Su Wanqing added, “I’ve heard that Huo Yanzhi is difficult to get along with. You should think this through.”
“I’m being serious,” Ruan Sheng said, rubbing his arm, his expression turning earnest. “The Huo family is too complicated. Huo Yanzhi… I’ve met him a few times, he’s unfathomable, you can’t outmaneuver him.”
Ruan Yao felt a warmth in her heart.
In her past life, they had advised her in the same way when they learned that she was to marry into the Huo family.
Later, they also advised her to live a good life with Huo Yanzhi, but she didn't listen.
Thinking of this, Ruan Yao felt a lump in her throat.
She shook her head, her tone more serious than ever before.
"Dad, Mom, brother, don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
Seeing her insistence, her family didn't say anything more, only reminding her to be careful in everything she did.
After all, this matter was still in its infancy, and the Huo family hadn't even said anything yet, but they were already throwing themselves into disarray.
After finally dealing with her family, Ruan Yao fled back to her room and collapsed onto her soft bed.
She picked up her phone and opened her chat window with Huo Yanzhi.
The message she sent is still lying there all alone, without receiving any reply.
Ruan Yao was feeling very uneasy. She rolled around on the bed, clutching her pillow, thinking about what had happened in the past two days. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings of sweetness and bitterness.
She raised her hand and tapped Huo Yanzhi's name on the screen.
They're really hard to catch up with.
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